Just changed my mind about pre-drilling pocket holes

I always figured pre-drilling was a waste of time until I watched an old cabinetmaker in Portland spend 7 minutes showing me how it keeps the wood from splitting on tight end grain. He said 'the screw wants to go straight, the wood wants to split - you pick which one wins.' Has anyone else had a small tip from one person totally flip how you do a basic step?

2 comments

2 Comments

tessawebb10d ago

Learned that same trick from a boat builder in Seattle. Never skip it now.

gavin_mason3110d ago

Honestly, half the time that extra step just slows things down and the seal holds fine anyway. Seems like a good way to make a simple job take twice as long for no real payoff.